Department for Transport

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has (a) identified and (b) received representations on the problems during the construction of the listed Alexandra and Ainsworth estate which led to (a) additional costs and (b) unique foundations being used to stabilise its buildings.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Yes. HS2 Ltd has identified that part of the Alexandra and Ainsworth Estate is built on piled foundations. As the planned tunnel is approximately 40m deep at this location, there is no risk of the piles intersecting the tunnel. The significant depth also means the ground movement and differential settlement at the surface is likely to be small. A Phase 1 green field ground movement assessment and a Phase 2 ground movement has been undertaken along the route. As these buildings are listed, there will also be a phase 3 assessment, which will take account of the unique features of the building and its foundations. HS2 Ltd has received no representations on these issues.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the nominated undertakers are (a) aware of the unique foundations of the Alexandra and Ainsworth estate in South Hampstead, (b) taking steps to survey the estate individually and (c) planning for mitigation measures including but not limited to (i) compensation grouting, (ii) underpinning and (iii) jacking to ensure the stability of the foundations of the estate as set out in Phase 3 Clause 6 of HS2 Information Paper C3.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: (a) Yes. HS2 Ltd has identified that part of the Alexandra and Ainsworth Estate is built on piled foundations. As the planned tunnel is approximately 40m deep at this location, there is no risk of the piles intersecting the tunnel. The significant depth also means the ground movement and differential settlement at the surface is likely to be small. A Phase 1 green field ground movement assessment and a Phase 2 ground movement has been undertaken along the route. As these buildings are listed, there will also be a phase 3 assessment, which will take account of the unique features of the building and its foundations. HS2 Ltd has received no representations on these issues. (b) Yes, HS2 Ltd has identified that part of the Alexandra and Ainsworth estate is built on piled foundations. The building will be subject to a survey in accordance with Information Paper C3 which forms part of the High Speed Rail (London to West Midlands) Act 2017.  (c) The ground movement at the building, using conservative volume loss assumptions, is between 1 and 7mm. In practice the experience of driving tunnels on Crossrail and HS1 in similar ground conditions demonstrates that the tunnels will be driven to a lower volume loss resulting in less movement. The tunnel boring machines specified for HS2 are high performance machines designed to minimise ground movement at source. This means there should be no need for the mitigations referred to.

Dartford-Thurrock Crossing

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what is the current average (a) waiting time and (b) crossing time for cars using the Dartford crossing.

Jesse Norman: Highways England do not hold data for average waiting times for cars using the Dartford Crossing. The Dartford Crossing was designed to be a Free Flow Crossing without toll booths. With regard to average crossing times, the table below contains the available average all-day journey time data for the northbound route from M25 Junction 2 to M25 Junction 30 including the Dartford Thurrock Crossing. This data has been collected by Highways England and processed on a consistent and comparable basis since June 2018. With regard to data collected from 2014 to June 2018, I refer my Rt Hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 7 November 2018 to Commons Question 185533. Average Journey Time, Dartford Crossing Northbound (M25 J2 - J30), July 2018 – Sept 2018 Time period (month-year)Average journey time (minutes: seconds)Jul-1810.16Aug-1810.13Sep-1808:51 The table below contains the available average all-day journey time data for the southbound route from M25 Junction 29 to M25 Junction 1b including the Dartford Thurrock Crossing. This data has been collected and processed on a consistent and comparable basis since 2014. Average Journey Time, Dartford Crossing Southbound (M25 J29 – J1b), 2014-18 Time period (month-year)Average journey time  (minutes: seconds)Time period (month-year)Average journey time (minutes: seconds)Jan-1411:32Jan-1710:58Feb-1413:25Feb-1711:33Mar-1412:47Mar-1710:52Apr-1417:04Apr-1710:19May-1417:08May-1710:31Jun-1417:04Jun-1711:00Jul-1421:53Jul-1710:53Aug-1421:44Aug-1711:13Sep-1415:36Sep-1710:57Oct-1419:21Oct-1711:38Nov-1417:26Nov-1711:45Dec-1410:47Dec-1711:22Jan-1510:17Jan-1810:58Feb-1510:25Feb-1811:41Mar-1510:54Mar-1812:18Apr-1510:34Apr-1810:42May-1511:11May-1810:46Jun-1511:20Jun-1810:41Jul-1511:28Jul-1811:32Aug-1510:25Aug-1811:20Sep-1510:16Sep-1810:48Oct-1510:54Nov-1511:11Dec-1511:23Jan-1611:59Feb-1613:16Mar-1612:27Apr-1612:31May-1612:21Jun-1611:32Jul-1612:08Aug-1612:33Sep-1611:37Oct-1612:15Nov-1613:09Dec-1611:29

Dartford-Thurrock Crossing: Tolls

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many Dart Charge payments were (a) late and (b) not paid since 2010.

Jesse Norman: The Dart Charge free flow system is a prepayment system, but with users given until midnight the day after the crossing was made to make a payment without penalty. 95% of users of the Dartford Crossing pay in compliance with these charging rules and the 5% who do not are sent a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN). There is no category of ‘late payment’. The number of UK PCNs issued since the introduction of the free flow charging scheme is as follows:2015 - 2,106,7482016 - 2,051,0132017 - 1,869,8002018 (up until 30/11/2018) - 2,014,737 Highways England pursue PCN cases vigorously, with 75 per cent of these paid following enforcement processes.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 28 November 2018 to Question 194629, whether his Department plans to award a civilian service medal to UK citizens to the OSCE mission to Ukraine.

Sir Alan Duncan: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office highly values the work of all UK citizens serving in the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) in Ukraine. There are no plans to introduce a specific OSCE SMM civilian service medal. We will continue to support our secondees with a package of benefits and remuneration that recognises their work for this important Mission.

Overseas Aid

Mr Bob Seely: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the amount of funding allocated to programmes overseas which are not part of Official Development Assistance.

Sir Alan Duncan: Information on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) programme spend is available in its Annual Report and Accounts. Detail of the FCO’s Official Development Assistance is also routinely published on the gov.uk website. Expenditure in the remaining year(s) of this spending period will be subject to the normal departmental business planning process, or programme allocation process. Expenditure in the next spending period will be determined at the next Spending Review.

British Overseas Territories: Overseas Aid

Dame Margaret Hodge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions representatives of his Department had at the Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council on 4-5 December 2018 on requests for assistance provided by the UK Government.

Sir Alan Duncan: The Government has not received any formal requests for assistance from the Overseas Territories thus far. Lord Ahmad, however, has announced at the Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council the setup of OT-UK workshops that will be scheduled from spring next year to provide technical support to the territories. The UK Government will also consider what financial support is needed for the Official Development Assistance-eligible territories.

Cabinet Office

Civil Service: Nationality

Alison McGovern: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to change paragraph 1.20 of the civil service nationality rules in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Oliver Dowden: There is no paragraph 1.20 in the Civil Service Nationality Rules themselves. There is a paragraph 1.20 in the Civil Service Nationality Rules Guidance which states that ‘EEA nationals are eligible for employment in all non-reserved posts in Civil Service’.

Department of Health and Social Care

Paediatrics: Mental Health Services

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many paediatric mental health nurses were employed by the NHS in each month since May 2010.

Jackie Doyle-Price: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 29 November 2018.The correct answer should have been:

NHS England has recently announced plans to enable consistent national availability of the Freestyle Libre Flash Glucose Monitoring device according to published guidance.Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) can purchase any available blood glucose monitoring which has been approved for sale on the open market. The availability of AccuChek Expert, Dexcom G6 and Eversense XL products is a matter for CCGs who are primarily responsible for commissioning diabetes services, to meet the requirements of their population. In doing so, they need to ensure that the services they provide are fit for purpose, reflect the needs of the local population, are based on the available evidence and consider national guidelines. NHS England engages with technology companies developing products that may be of significant benefit to those with diabetes to seek to increase their availability to patients where appropriate.The Department does not collate data on the number of patients using these devices nationally or by clinical commissioning group. NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) workforce statistics for England. These include staff working in hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), but not staff working in primary care or in general practitioner surgeries, local authorities or other providers.The attached table shows the number of paediatric mental health nurses who work in National Health Service trusts and CCGs in England as at the last day of each specified month from May 2010 to July 2018 (latest available), full time equivalent.Paediatric mental health nurses include qualified nurses & health visitors within the care settings 'Community Mental Health' and 'Other Mental Health', with Tertiary Areas of Work 'Child and Adolescent Psychiatry' and 'Child Psychotherapy'.The Area of Work reproduced here is that submitted by individual NHS organisations and has not been subject to the types of validation procedures undertaken by NHS Digital in relation to many other data items used in official publications. As such, these figures should be treated with a degree of caution.



Number of paediatric mental health nurses 2010-18
(Word Document, 23.29 KB)

Jackie Doyle-Price: NHS England has recently announced plans to enable consistent national availability of the Freestyle Libre Flash Glucose Monitoring device according to published guidance.Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) can purchase any available blood glucose monitoring which has been approved for sale on the open market. The availability of AccuChek Expert, Dexcom G6 and Eversense XL products is a matter for CCGs who are primarily responsible for commissioning diabetes services, to meet the requirements of their population. In doing so, they need to ensure that the services they provide are fit for purpose, reflect the needs of the local population, are based on the available evidence and consider national guidelines. NHS England engages with technology companies developing products that may be of significant benefit to those with diabetes to seek to increase their availability to patients where appropriate.The Department does not collate data on the number of patients using these devices nationally or by clinical commissioning group. NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) workforce statistics for England. These include staff working in hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), but not staff working in primary care or in general practitioner surgeries, local authorities or other providers.The attached table shows the number of paediatric mental health nurses who work in National Health Service trusts and CCGs in England as at the last day of each specified month from May 2010 to July 2018 (latest available), full time equivalent.Paediatric mental health nurses include qualified nurses & health visitors within the care settings 'Community Mental Health' and 'Other Mental Health', with Tertiary Areas of Work 'Child and Adolescent Psychiatry' and 'Child Psychotherapy'.The Area of Work reproduced here is that submitted by individual NHS organisations and has not been subject to the types of validation procedures undertaken by NHS Digital in relation to many other data items used in official publications. As such, these figures should be treated with a degree of caution.



Number of paediatric mental health nurses 2010-18
(Word Document, 23.29 KB)

General Practitioners

Dr Dan Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many full-time equivalent fully qualified GPs have been working in the NHS in England in each year since 2010.

Steve Brine: The data requested are available in the following table, which sets out the number of full-time equivalent general practitioner (GP) partners, salaried GPs and GP retainers. GP registrars are excluded as they are not fully qualified GPs. Locums have been excluded as these figures are not comparable between 2015 and 2018. No reliable data for full-time equivalent GPs are available prior to September 2015.  Fully-qualified, full-time equivalent GPs (including GP partners, salaried GPs and GP retainers)201529,296201628,530201727,926201827,558Source: NHS Digital Notes: All data is as at 30 September.Each period, figures contain estimates for practices that did not provide fully valid GP records. September 2015 – 15.5%, September 2016 – 13.7%, September 2017 - 5.4% and June 2018 - 5.0%Full time equivalent refers to the proportion of full time contracted hours that the post holder is contracted to work. 1 would indicate they work a full set of hours, 0.5 that they worked half time.Figures shown do not include GPs working in prisons, army bases, educational establishments, specialist care centres including drug rehabilitation centres and walk-in centres

Compulsorily Detained Psychiatric Patients

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people receiving aftercare provided under section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983 have been subsequently detained under the Mental Health Act in each of the last eight years.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The information requested is not collected.

Clinical Commissioning Groups: East Midlands

Ben Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding was allocated from the public purse to each clinical commissioning group area in the East Midlands per head of population in (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18.

Stephen Hammond: Clinical commissioning group (CCG) allocations for 2016/17 and 2017/18 are available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/nhs-england-allocations-ccg-core-services/ The East Midlands refers to a Government Office Region (GOR), which is not equivalent to Midlands and East National Health Service region. The East Midlands GOR comprises the following CCGs, based on Lower Layer Super Output Area resident populations (Office for National Statistics). NHS Organisational Data Service code 2016/17 (£)2017/18 (£)02QNHS Bassetlaw CCG1,3351,35603TNHS Lincolnshire East CCG1,3481,37103VNHS Corby CCG1,2311,25103WNHS East Leicestershire and Rutland CCG1,0971,11403XNHS Erewash CCG1,2841,30303YNHS Hardwick CCG1,3931,41504CNHS Leicester City CCG1,1011,11704DNHS Lincolnshire West CCG1,1851,20204ENHS Mansfield and Ashfield CCG1,3261,34704GNHS Nene CCG1,1391,15804HNHS Newark and Sherwood CCG1,2431,26304JNHS North Derbyshire CCG1,3361,34804KNHS Nottingham City CCG1,1761,19304LNHS Nottingham North and East CCG1,2061,22604MNHS Nottingham West CCG1,2291,24604NNHS Rushcliffe CCG1,0931,11104QNHS South West Lincolnshire CCG1,1811,19504RNHS Southern Derbyshire CCG1,2131,22904VNHS West Leicestershire CCG1,0821,09999DNHS South Lincolnshire CCG1,2091,23001YNHS Tameside and Glossop CCG1,3741,39306HNHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough CCG1,0581,077Note: NHS Tameside and Glossop CCG and NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough CCG partially overlap with this GOR.

General Practitioners: Nottinghamshire

Ben Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of GPs in Nottinghamshire.

Steve Brine: NHS England and Health Education England (HEE) are working together with the profession to increase the general practitioner (GP) workforce nationally. This includes measures to boost recruitment, address the reasons why GPs are leaving the profession, and encourage GPs to return to practice. The Targeted Enhanced Recruitment Scheme is available in Nottinghamshire and offers a £20,000 salary supplement to attract doctors to parts of the country where there have been consistent shortages of GP trainees. 12 places were available in 2018 and a further 12 have been made available in 2019 in Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire. Mansfield and Ashfield Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and Newark and Sherwood CCG advise that the first wave of their international recruitment has taken place and the first few recruits are in post with further candidates in the pipeline. An increasing number of practices are also now sponsors for International Medical Graduates (on Tier 2 visas) who have trained in the United Kingdom. To address retention, the CCGs advise that they have a wide range of schemes available including a Trainee Transition programme which is providing trainees in their third year of training with flexible working options, a GP mentoring and support scheme, and a Post Certificate of Training (CCT) Fellowship. The CCT Fellowship provides additional support for GPs to extend their skills in leadership, digital working and urgent and emergency care. In additional to this, the CCGs advise that they are tackling practice workload and generating a wider culture of job satisfaction through engagement in the Releasing Time for Care programme. The programme includes training for administrative staff to reduce the burden on GPs.

Dentistry: Nottinghamshire

Ben Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of dentists in Nottinghamshire.

Steve Brine: Nationally, the number of dentists remain high. The latest data published in NHS Digital’s annual report on 30 August 2018 shows that 24,308 dentists delivered National Health Service dental services in 2017/18, 30 more than in 2016-17. The data is available at the following link: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-dental-statistics/2017-18-annual-report We are aware that the same figures show there has been a small fall in the total numbers of dentists working on NHS contracts. NHS England commissions primary care dental services and is responsible for ensuring there are sufficient dental services to meet local need. NHS England is closely monitoring any local difficulties in recruitment and retention and over the summer held a workshop with various dental stakeholders to identify the causes and potential actions.

Gender Recognition: Children

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that parents of children who want to change gender are consulted as part of that decision-making process.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Making sure that young people and parents or carers can give informed consent is an important aspect of the work undertaken when young people request a physical intervention for gender dysphoria. NHS England has published a service specification ‘NHS Standard Contract for Gender Identity Development Service For Children And Adolescents’ which refers throughout to the input of parents/carers and families. A copy of this service specification has been attached. For young people of 16 and under, consent to treatment should usually be sought from the child and from one or both parents, except under exceptional circumstances. For adolescents over 16, if it is concluded that they have sufficient understanding of what is to be offered (this is known as ‘Gillick’ or ‘Fraser’ competence), they may give their own consent to treatment, although under most circumstances, it is good practice to seek parental assent too. However, each assessment is tailored to the unique needs and circumstances of the young person and their family.



PQ202819 attached document
(PDF Document, 1.15 MB)

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to tackle prescription fraud.

Steve Brine: Steps to tackle National Health Service prescription fraud include the introduction of Real Time Exemption Checking (RTEC) technology, which will enable pharmacies to confirm a person’s eligibility for free NHS prescriptions, prior to dispensing their prescription items. RTEC is due to be piloted in 2019. Prior to the introduction of RTEC, prescription exemption checking is being undertaken retrospectively by the NHS Business Services Authority. The national ‘Check Before You Tick’ communications campaign is also live, encouraging people to check whether they are entitled to free NHS prescriptions before claiming them. A new online tool is available to help people check their eligibility for free NHS prescriptions.

Obesity: Children

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of PE and school sport on childhood obesity.

Steve Brine: The Government is clear that physical education (PE) and school sport is important because it teaches pupils the importance of developing healthy habits from an early age that can have positive impacts on pupil health, mental wellbeing, character and childhood obesity. The first ever Active Lives Children and Young People Survey published by Sport England on 6 December showed that around 3 million children (43.3%) achieved at least an average of 60 minutes of physical activity a day, over the week. The survey report is attached. Through both chapters of the Childhood Obesity Plan, the Government is supporting the delivery of the UK Chief Medical Officers’ guidelines that every child and young person aged 5 to 18 should get at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity a day. Chapter 2 of the plan promotes a national ambition for every primary school to adopt an active mile initiative, such as the Daily Mile, supported by £1.5 million investment recently announced by Sport England. Since 2013, through the primary PE and sport premium the Government has invested over £1 billion of ring-fenced funding to primary schools to improve PE and sport. A further £100 million of revenue generated from the soft drinks industry levy has been used for the Healthy Pupils Capital Fund in 2018-19, which improves children’s access to facilities for physical activity. In October the Government announced a new School Sport and Activity Action Plan to be published in spring 2019 which will help get more young people active and enjoying the benefits of sport.



PQ202751 attached document
(PDF Document, 3.5 MB)

Streptococcus

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the finding of the recent Group B Strep Support report that cases relating to group B Strep  cost the NHS £40 million in compensation, what steps his Department is taking to (a) improve prevention of and (b) reduce instances of clinical negligence relating to that infection.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Holding answer received on 20 December 2018



The Department is aware of the recent Group B Strep Support report, published in December 2018, regarding clinical negligence costs incurred by the National Health Service relating to cases of Group B Streptococcus.The Department notes the report’s recommendations regarding adherence to guidelines, which reinforce the Department’s expectation that all health professionals adhere to the relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance and consider that provided by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, as specifically mentioned in the report.The Healthcare Safety Investigations Branch (HSIB) has now been established and begun rolling out its approach to investigations of unexplained severe brain injury, intrapartum stillbirths, early neonatal and maternal deaths in England so that the NHS learns from what went wrong and uses this to prevent future tragedies. The HSIB will involve families and are in the process of developing an effective family engagement service.NHS Resolution fully supports improving greater and earlier recognition of this very serious infection in neonates, establishing an early notification scheme for severe harm in maternity in 2016, and reviewing all cases of possible brain injury reported to them, prior to the receipt of a claim.

Nurses: Training

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the forthcoming long-term plan for the NHS will include the matter of investment in nursing higher education.

Stephen Hammond: The National Health Service runs on the dedication of its workforce and ensuring we have the right staff in the right place when they are needed is fundamental to this. Workforce will be at the heart of the NHS long-term plan, supporting our drive to ensure the NHS has, not only the nursing workforce it needs but other key groups too to deliver excellent, safe care for patients.

Macfarlane Trust

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what consultations his Department held with beneficiaries of the Macfarlane Trust prior to the closure of that Trust and transfer of that Trust's residual funds and assets to the Terrence Higgins Trust.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Holding answer received on 20 December 2018



The Department launched the first infected blood consultation, ‘Infected blood: reform on financial and other support’1, in January 2016. The consultation confirmed that the majority of beneficiaries would prefer one scheme to the then five schemes. The second consultation ‘Infected blood: Consultation on Special Category Mechanism and financial and other support in England’2 in October 2017 announced that NHS Business Services Authority, not the former scheme administrators, such as the Macfarlane Trust, would manage the new reformed scheme.I have written to the Macfarlane Trust on a number of occasions since 12 September 2018 asking for its plans with respect to any residual funds it held on closure. I also reminded the Macfarlane Trust that it must operate in accordance with its trust deed which states that the funds can only be transferred to one or more bodies established for charitable purposes with similar, or the same, objectives to its own i.e. providing support for people infected with HIV. The Macfarlane Trust informed me of the transfer of the its residual funds and assets to the Terrence Higgins Trust via a letter dated 12 December 2018. Consultation with beneficiaries regarding this transfer of assets on closure was not the responsibility of the Department.Notes:1https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/infected-blood-reform-of-financial-and-other-support 2https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/infected-blood-support-special-category-mechanism

Homeopathy

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 10 October 2017 to Question 901025 on NHS: Homeopathy, what assessment NICE has made of the clinical effectiveness of homeopathy services for patients.

Steve Brine: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has made a number of recommendations in clinical guidelines that do not support the use of homeopathy in a range of clinical settings, including lower urinary tract symptoms in men, atopic eczema in under 12s and inducing labour. The guidelines are available at the following links: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg97 https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg57 https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg70

Nurses: Pensions

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether requirement were placed on the NHS Business Services Authority or its predecessor organisations to inform nurses on (a) changes to and (b) the removal of Special Class Status.

Stephen Hammond: When Special Class Status was withdrawn for new members from 6 March 1995, the NHS Pensions Agency which was an Executive Agency of the Department, issued guidance in December 1994 to inform members of changes to Special Class Status. It is for employers to decide locally how they communicate changes to the NHS Pension Scheme to their staff, including changes to Special Class Status. In accordance with the NHS Pension Scheme Regulations, employers are required to keep accurate and up to date local pension records and to submit an annual pension return in respect of every employee to the Scheme manager within two months of pension year end. At the inception of the 2015 Scheme, the NHS Business Service Authority published the following guidance on changes to Special Class Status for members moving between Schemes: https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/2018-10/Special%20Class%20status%20member%20factsheet-20181017-%28V7%29%20.pdf The NHS Business Services Authority Functions Directions 2016[1] require the NHS Business Services Authority to exercise on behalf of the Secretary of State all functions relating to the NHS Pension Schemes that are conferred upon the Secretary of State, with the exception of making scheme regulations and directions. Specifically, the Directions require the NHS Business Services Authority to provide advice and guidance to employers operating within the schemes. Note:1https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/2017-02/Section_2_-_B1_NHSBSA_Directions_2016.pdf

NHS: Pensions

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which groups of NHS workers, excluding nurses, are entitled to Special Class Status; and whether those groups have been subject to changes to their retirement age.

Stephen Hammond: Special Class Status is a reserved right that permits eligible members of the 1995 NHS Pension Scheme to retire from age 55 with an unreduced pension. The right is available for nurses, physiotherapists, midwives, health visitors and mental health officers who joined the scheme before 6 March 1995 and have not subsequently had a break in membership of over five years. It is a conditional right, which in the case of nurses requires the individual to be employed continuously in a nursing role for the five years immediately preceding the date of retirement. The right was withdrawn for new members from 6 March 1995. Staff in the 1995 NHS Pension Scheme who did not acquire or satisfy the conditions for Special Class Status have a normal scheme retirement age of 60. Subsequent reforms saw new NHS Pension Schemes introduced in 2008 and 2015 with a later retirement age of 65 and state pension age respectively for all staff in those schemes. Upon introduction of the 2015 NHS Pension Scheme, transitional arrangements permitted staff closest to retirement to continue accruing pension in the closed 1995 Scheme. A small number of 1995 Scheme members with Special Class Status were too young to benefit from this protection and therefore transferred to the 2015 Scheme for future service. Such members can claim their 1995 Scheme pension accrued prior to transfer, on a Special Class basis from age 55 should they satisfy the conditions. The pension built up under the 2015 has a retirement age equal to the member’s state pension age.

Health Education: Children

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on steps to improve health literacy for (a) primary school-aged children and (b) secondary school-aged children.

Jackie Doyle-Price: My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care regularly discusses a range of issues, including health literacy in schools, with cabinet colleagues. Public Health England (PHE), Health Education England, NHS England and Community Health and Learning Foundation, are working together to develop, test and implement a range of strategic and practical interventions towards improving health literacy. School nurses are specialist public health nurses who lead the Healthy Child Programme (5-19). They deliver evidence-based public health interventions both within and out of school settings. The Health Literacy toolkit has been produced with support from Public Health England and is designed to help school nurses improve the health literacy of children and young people. The Association for Young People’s Health AYPH toolkit, commissioned by PHE, can be viewed at the following link: http://www.youngpeopleshealth.org.uk/health-literacy The ‘School aged years high impact area 6: seamless transition and preparation for adulthood’ provides robust evidence for school nurses to support young people preparing for adulthood, access to information and support, and knowledge of services to help keep them healthy. ‘School aged years high impact area 6: Seamless transition and preparation for adulthood’ can be viewed at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/754809/school_aged_years_high_impact_area_6.pdf

Health Services

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what criteria his Department uses to monitor the adoption by NHS hospitals of good practice to enable (a) appropriate patient flow, (b) timely hand-offs between A&E clinicians and acute physicians, (c) discharge to assess, (d) trusted assessor arrangements, (e) streamlined continuing healthcare processes and (f) seven-day discharge capabilities.

Stephen Hammond: Monitoring of performance against the 95% four hour accident and emergency standard, along with data regarding 12 hour waits for admission, bed occupancy and delayed transfers of care is collected and published monthly by NHS England. Data, published at both a national and a trust level, is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ Discharge to Assess and Trusted Assessor arrangements are both monitored by the Better Care Fund (BCF) partners. This is supported by the BCF quarterly reports that are submitted by Health and Wellbeing Boards to NHS England as part of the policy framework and planning requirements for 2017-19. From 2015-16, NHS Continuing Healthcare has been included in the assurance processes for clinical commissioning groups. For individuals on the acute hospital discharge pathway, NHS England has introduced a Quality Premium to incentivise assessment for NHS Continuing Healthcare in a community setting where appropriate. NHS Improvement’s good practice guide, ‘Focus on improving patient flow for national priorities for acute hospitals 2017’, published in July 2017, set out six principles underpinning good patient flow including the principle that flow is seven days a week. Attendances and admissions occur relatively consistently through the week and so should reviews, transitions and discharges. The document can be accessed at the following link: https://improvement.nhs.uk/resources/good-practice-guide-focus-on-improving-patient-flow/

NHS 111

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many calls NHS 111 online has handled in each of the last three months.

Stephen Hammond: This information is not collected in the format requested. NHS Digital collects data on the number of transactions completed on NHS 111 online. The following table shows the number of completed transactions, rather than individual people who have used the service, between September- November 2018. MonthTotal number of transactionsSeptember55,110October63,849November78,780

Epilepsy

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) women and (b) men aged (i) 10 to 30 years and (ii) 31 to 60 years have a diagnosis of epilepsy.

Steve Brine: The information is not held in the format requested.

Lung Cancer

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many clinical commissioning group areas offer percutaneous needle biopsy for the detection of lung cancer.

Steve Brine: This information is not held centrally.

Influenza: Vaccination

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase take-up of the flu vaccine among (a) ethnic and (b) low-income groups.

Steve Brine: Public Health England (PHE) has investigated variations in flu vaccine uptake. Vaccine coverage is closely monitored, and deprivation and ethnicity are key predictors for the levels of flu vaccine uptake. Outcomes from this analysis are being taken forward in the delivery of the national programme, for instance:- PHE and NHS England run the annual national ‘Help Us Help You - Stay Well This Winter campaign’ which encourages eligible groups to get their flu vaccine each year, including tailored activity for Black, Asian and Minority and Ethnic groups;- NHS England local teams work in partnership with local authorities and other stakeholders to plan and promote vaccination, such that it is responsive to local needs; and- PHE works with an extensive range of partners to provide campaign resources that can be tailored to specific audiences and local needs as required.

Nurses: Pensions

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many complaints by nurses that their 01 special class status capacity code has been removed from their pension records the NHS Business Services Authority is handling.

Stephen Hammond: The NHS Business Services Authority administers the NHS Pension Scheme, and allocates capacity codes for different employment groups for recording purposes. The NHS Business Services Authority has confirmed that the requested information is not readily available. In order to obtain the requested information, the NHS Business Services Authority would need to manually interrogate all records for members whose employment type includes nurses, then identify those who were afforded Special Class Status. The NHS Business Services Authority would then need to identify members who are no longer afforded Special Class Status and who have made a complaint.

Department of Health and Social Care: Migrant Workers

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of his Department paying the £65 application fee for settled or pre-settled status for EU nationals (a) employed by and (b) working as an outsourced worker in his Department; what estimate he has made of the total cost to his Department of paying those fees; and what assessment he has made of the risks that the EU Settlement Scheme poses to the retention of EU nationals (i) employed by or (ii) working as an outsourced worker in his Department.

Caroline Dinenage: The United Kingdom Government currently does not plan to pay the Settled Status Fee for its non-UK European Union citizen employees. The fee is set at a affordable rate (£65), less than the cost of a UK passport. Outsourced workers are not employees of the Department and therefore this would be a decision for their employers. The number of non-UK EU citizens employed across the Civil Service is not consistently collected across Government. It is therefore not possible to estimate the cost of paying the settled status fee for non-UK EU nationals employed directly by the Department. We value the significant contribution made by EU citizens working in the Civil Service and we want these colleagues to continue to play a full role in the work of the Civil Service. We are committed to supporting our EU citizen employees across the Civil Service, the important engagement with EU national networks across Government will continue over the coming months.

Nusinersen

Heidi Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with NICE on the (a) timeframe for the publication of decision of the NICE evaluation committee meeting held on 23 October 2018 in relation to Spinraza and (b) potential availability of Spinraza on the NHS.

Steve Brine: Departmental Ministers and officials have spoken to colleagues at the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on a number of occasions to enquire about the progress of the technology appraisal of nusinersen for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy. On 12 November, following NICE’s second appraisal committee meeting for nusinersen on Tuesday 23 October, NICE informed registered stakeholders that it and the manufacturer Biogen were continuing to progress discussions and as a result NICE was not in a position to provide the outcome of the committee’s deliberations.

Perinatal Mortality

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department taking to reduce the number of stillbirths.

Jackie Doyle-Price: It is the Government’s ambition to halve the 2010 rates of stillbirths, neonatal and maternal deaths and brain injuries that occur during or soon after birth by 2025 and to achieve at least a 20% reduction in these rates by 2020. The stillbirth rate in England fell from 5.1 to 4.1 per 1,000 births between 2010 and 2017, representing a decrease of almost 20% and 827 fewer stillbirths. We currently have the lowest stillbirth rate on record. A 20% decrease in stillbirth rates was recorded by early adopters of the Saving Babies’ Lives Care Bundle. All maternity units are now implementing elements of the Care Bundle and there are plans to expand its scope to include other clinical interventions. We are improving investigations into term stillbirths, early neonatal deaths and other adverse outcomes, with investigations being undertaken by the independent Healthcare Safety Investigations Branch, identifying what went wrong and capturing the lessons learned. Alongside the Welsh and Scottish Health Departments, we have also funded the Perinatal Mortality Review Tool, launched in 2018. All trusts have now registered to use this tool. Additionally, the Department of Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Justice are working together to look into whether the law should be changed to expand coronial jurisdiction to stillbirths with the intention that this may help ensure that important lessons are learnt to prevent future deaths.

Cancer: Research

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department has allocated to cancer research in 2017.

Caroline Dinenage: Research is crucial in the fight against cancer. That is why the Department invests £1 billion per year in health research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The NIHR’s cancer research expenditure has risen from £101 million in 2010/11 to £136 million in 2017/18. This constitutes the largest investment in a disease area. As with other Government funders of health research, the NIHR does not allocate funding for specific disease areas. The level of research spend in a particular area is driven by factors including scientific potential and the number and scale of successful funding applications. The NIHR Clinical Research Network supports the delivery of funded research in the National Health Service to quality, time and target, and has over 800 cancer trials and studies recruiting or in set-up. Through the NIHR Clinical Research Network, the proportion of patients entering cancer clinical trials and studies is more than double that in any other country for which data exists, including the United States.

Drugs: Research

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department's policy is on the recommendations in relation to the provision of information on industry (a) activities, (b) risks, (c) costs and (d) returns on R&D made in the report on Pharmaceutical Innovation and Access to Medicines, published by the OECD in November 2018.

Caroline Dinenage: We note the report ‘Pharmaceutical Innovation and Access to Medicines’ published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in November 2018 and agree with the recommendation that a more informed debate on the cost and benefits of research and development would be beneficial. The OECD’s work through the papers published by the health division of the Directorate of Labour and Social Affairs is a welcome contribution to that debate and we look forward to future publications from them.

Accidents: Fees and Charges

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the amount recovered from third party insurers for NHS treatment under the NHS Injury Recovery Scheme in the last two financial years.

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential financial benefits to the NHS of increasing the NHS Injury Cost Recovery tariff beyond the Hospital and Community Health Services inflation rate.

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will conduct an impact assessment of the NHS Injury Cost Recovery scheme.

Stephen Hammond: The Injury Cost Recovery scheme is a scheme in place for the recovery of treatment costs that applies to patients who subsequently go on to make a successful claim for personal injury compensation against a third party. Funds recovered come primarily from a third-party compensator or insurer. The information requested is provided in the following table.Financial YearEngland (£ million)Scotland (£ million)Wales (£ million)Ambulance Trusts (£ million)Total (£ million)2016/17166.1114.4110.528.74199.782017/18165.5814.9310.348.49199.33 The Department recognises that treatment type and costs change and therefore we do keep the setting of the tariffs under close review. However, we believe the scheme currently strikes the right balance between risk and reward by having a simple to administer, low cost scheme that provides significant benefit for the National Health Service. Over 90% of cases recovered fall within the current tariff cap. Whilst increasing the level of the cap may lead to increased recoveries, this is likely to be offset by increased administrative efforts and costs, for example with more cases becoming subject to legal challenge. The Department’s most recent assessment of the impact associated with the scheme is available here: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/141/memorandum/contents

Department of Health and Social Care: Brexit

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many non-disclosure agreements his Department has signed with pharmaceutical companies advising the Government on preparations for the UK leaving the EU.

Stephen Hammond: Since July 2016, the Department has signed 16 non-disclosure agreements with private companies and 10 with trade associations relating to our medical supply no-deal Brexit contingency planning. By signing non-disclosure agreements, the Department can talk to the industry in confidence prior to making public statements and issuing advice. This means that when we go out to the whole industry, we can be confident that any requests of them are clear, appropriate and deliverable. For example, we consulted with the pharmaceutical industry prior to issuing advice about stockpiling medicines.

Cancer: Young People

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will establish a Young Cancer Patient Travel Fund to cover the costs of travel to and from hospital for cancer treatment appointments for children, young people and their families.

Steve Brine: There is work underway to review the service specifications for children and young people with cancer. This will provide an opportunity to consider how some aspects of the patient pathway may be provided more locally to reduce the travel burden for patients and their families. Currently the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme which is part of the NHS Low Income Scheme allows for patients (and in certain circumstances their carers) to receive reimbursement of travel if they are in receipt of a qualifying benefit or on a low income. The NHS Low Income Scheme has helped 337,000 applicants to receive financial help with their National Health Service treatment.

Pancreatic Cancer

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to introduce a maximum waiting time for treatment for patients who have been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Steve Brine: Clinical priority remains the main determinant of when a patient should be treated. NHS England will shortly be introducing a Faster Diagnostic Standard of 28 days for all cancer patients, including those with pancreatic cancer, which when taken together with the 62-day referral to treatment standard, will mean that all patients should expect to start their treatment within 34 days of diagnosis. This is a maximum, and trusts should continue to treat patients more quickly particularly where there is a strong clinical need.

Suicide

Helen Whately: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to promote the implementation of the suicide prevention frameworks developed by Health Education England and the Royal College of Psychiatrists National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Health Education England (HEE) published the suicide and self-harm prevention competency frameworks for children and young people, adults, and public health in October 2018. HEE is reviewing existing suicide training provision in relation to the competency frameworks, to inform the development of a compendium of training resource for the workforce and potential commissioning of future training. HEE is hosting a roundtable event in 2019, which I will be attending, with a wide range of services including health, public health and other emergency services to map out their training needs in relation to the competency frameworks, and is working with MindEd to produce a children and young persons’ module that will build on and reference the competency framework in relation to suicide prevention. HEE has also worked with the National Suicide Prevention Alliance to ensure that the competency framework is referenced on their website. In addition, throughout 2019, members of the National Suicide Prevention Strategy Delivery Group will explore how the Competency Frameworks can be used and promoted within their networks.

Department for International Development

Palestinians: Overseas Aid

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what sums her Department has disbursed in aid to the Palestinian Authority in each of the last five years.

Alistair Burt: Figures for UK overseas aid spending are published annually in the ‘Statistics for International Development’ reports (SIDs), and are reported by calendar year. A summary of financial support to the Palestinian Authority (PA) in each of the last five years is provided below. Figures for 2018 have not yet been published. Further detail can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-on-international-developmentYear20132014201520162017Amount in £millions (to the nearest £million)£42m£34m£25m£0m£45mSource: Statistics for International DevelopmentNote: The 2017 figure represents the combined total of two payments made in separate financial years, one before April 2017 (£25m) and the other after April 2017 (£20m).

Palestinians: Overseas Aid

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the Palestinian Authority is breaking any conditions attached to the delivery of aid by the UK.

Alistair Burt: The UK’s financial support to the Palestinian Authority (PA) is governed by a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the UK and the PA. This MoU includes a commitment to the UK's partnership principles, and is reviewed on an annual basis. At the last review in May 2018, DFID assessed that the PA continued to demonstrate commitment to these shared principles. The next full annual assessment will take place in 2019.

Palestinians: Overseas Aid

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department has investigated allegations that UK aid has been used to purchase school books encouraging Palestinian children to sacrifice their lives in the name of religion.

Alistair Burt: No UK aid is used to fund the purchasing of school textbooks in the OPTs. UK aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) is used exclusively to pay the salaries of teachers, doctors and other public servants working in the health and education sectors. Our money goes into a special, dedicated bank account before being paid to individuals who have been vetted in advance. Independent auditors then check that the money paid out of the UK dedicated bank account goes only to these vetted individuals after every disbursement.The UK government is deeply concerned about the findings of a report into the PA’s new curriculum conducted by IMPACT-se. It is a priority for DFID to commission an independent review of the PA’s textbooks. We are also continuing to raise our concerns about incitement, which I did myself at a meeting with the Palestinian Education Minister earlier this year. Earlier this month, DFID officials met the PA Education Minister and raised UK concerns over specific examples in the textbooks.

Palestinians: Overseas Aid

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department has audited the expenditure of Overseas Development Assistance by the Palestinian Authority.

Alistair Burt: UK officials safeguard and continuously monitor the expenditure of UK aid in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. This includes our support to the Palestinian Authority, which is channelled through the EU Palestinian-European Socio-Economic Management Assistance Mechanism (PEGASE). Our money goes into a special, dedicated bank account before being paid to individuals who have been vetted in advance. Independent auditors then check that the money paid out of the UK dedicated bank account only goes to these vetted individuals after every disbursement. We remain confident that these measures enable us to adequately monitor and evaluate our support to the Palestinian Authority.

Department for International Development: Migrant Workers

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of her Department paying the £65 application fee for settled or pre-settled status for EU nationals (a) employed by and (b) working as an outsourced worker in her Department; what estimate she has made of the total cost to her Department of paying those fees; and what assessment she has made of the risks that the EU Settlement Scheme poses to the retention of EU nationals (i) employed by or (ii) working as an outsourced worker in her Department.

Alistair Burt: The UK Government currently does not plan to pay application fees to Home Civil Servants (HCS) for Settled Status. Outsourced workers are not DFID employees, and this will be the decision of their employers. As at 31 October 2018, 107 Home Civil Servants (HCS) have declared their nationality as non-UK EU nationals, although this information is provided on a voluntary basis. The estimated costs to DFID of paying settled status application fees would equate to £6,955, based on this voluntary declaration. DFID values the significant contribution made by EU citizens working for the department and we want these colleagues to continue to play a full role in the work of the Civil Service. We are committed to supporting our EU citizen employees across the Civil Service and the important engagement with EU national networks across government will continue over the coming months.

Rohingya: Refugees

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to promote a long-term solution for Rohingya refugees.

Alistair Burt: The UK has led the international response, including using our role at the UN Security Council to push for international accountability and long-term support for the Rohingya. The UK government is supporting Rohingya in Bangladesh, as well as pushing for improved conditions in Rakhine State in order to allow voluntary, safe and dignified returns, with UNHCR oversight. We have been one of the main donors to the international humanitarian joint response plan and we expect to remain a leading donor.

Bangladesh: Rohingya

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions her Department has had with the Government of Bangladesh on granting refugee status to the Rohingya.

Alistair Burt: We continue to discuss the status of the Rohingya with the government of Bangladesh, which prefers not to formally recognise them as refugees. We maintain that refugee status would help to ensure appropriate support and security for the Rohingya. It would also help with raising the urgent funds needed from the international community.

Bangladesh: Rohingya

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions her Department has had with the Government of Bangladesh on providing additional flat and usable land for Rohingya refugees.

Alistair Burt: Congestion remains a serious challenge for the Rohingya refugee response and we have encouraged the government of Bangladesh at the highest levels to make more onshore land available. Bangladesh has already provided some additional land and the UK has supported international efforts to make this suitable and safe. We have made clear that any relocation of refugees must be safe, dignified and meet international humanitarian principles and standards.

Department for Education

Children in Care

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to table A2 of the statistical release Information on looked after children at both national and local authority levels for the financial year 2016-17, how many of the 8,830 looked-after children who were cared for in a friends and family foster placement on 31 March 2017 had also been in (a) an unrelated foster placement, (b) another family and friends care placement, (c) a children's home and (d) other provision for looked-after children; and whether this data could be provided at (i) national, (ii) regional and (iii) local authority area level.

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to table A2 of the statistical release Information on looked-after children at both national and local authority levels for the financial year 2017-18, how many of the 9,720  looked-after children who were cared for in a friends and family foster placement on 31 March 2018 had also been in (a) an unrelated foster placement, (b) another family and friends care placement, (c) a children's home and (d) other provision for looked-after children; and whether this data could be provided at (i) national, (ii) regional and (iii) local authority area level.

Nadhim Zahawi: The information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Apprentices: Photography

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to increase promote photography apprenticeships.

Anne Milton: To promote apprenticeships across all sectors, we are first and foremost ensuring that apprenticeships are a quality product recognised by individuals and employers. Our communications campaign aims to help increase the number of vacancies created by employers and to encourage young people to choose an apprenticeship as a high quality career route, signposting them to new vacancies on offer. We target potential apprentices, employers, parents and teachers using channels such as video adverts for TV, cinema and online channels, a national billboard campaign, digital advertising and social media, as well as through face-to-face engagement activities and events. Our communication continues to support employers to create new vacancies and to publicise them on the Find An Apprenticeship website.New apprenticeship standards across all levels are being designed and driven by industry; creating higher quality training that will lead to a more skilled and productive economy. All starts will be on the new, high quality standards by the beginning of the 2020-21 academic year.A level 3 Photographic Assistant standard is currently in development. Employers involved in creating the standard include Defence School of Photography, ScreenSkills, Creative Pioneers and Warwickshire College.

Apprentices: Photography

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of the number of photography apprenticeships.

Anne Milton: ​​There is no apprenticeship framework or standard called ‘photography’. The most relevant framework found was the ‘Photo imaging for Staff Photographers’ framework which is the only apprenticeship framework or standard to contain ‘photo’ or ‘image’ in its title. There were no starts on this framework in the 2017/18 academic year compared to 20 in each of the previous two academic years (2016/17 and 2015/16).The table below shows apprenticeship starts in the Arts, Media and Publishing sector subject area, along with further subject area breakdowns for the 2017/18 academic year. This sector is most likely to contain frameworks or standards with an element of photography within them. The data is taken from the Individualised Learner Record, available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/761151/Monthly-apprenticeship-starts_SSA-Fwk-Std-Age-Level-Fund_Nov2018.xlsx.Apprenticeship starts in the 2017/18 academic year (August 2017 – July 2018) in the Arts, Media and Publishing sector subject area Apprenticeship starts in 2017/18 (Aug 2017 – July 2018)Total starts in Arts, Media and Publishing sector subject area950of which Crafts, Creative Arts and Design380of which Media and Communication550of which Performing Arts-of which Publishing and Information Services20 NotesData are based on full final year figures for the 2017/18 academic year (August 2017 to July 2018).​Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10, ‘-’ indicates a value of less than 5 starts.

Department for Education: Migrant Workers

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of his Department paying the £65 application fee for settled or pre-settled status for EU nationals (a) employed by and (b) working as an outsourced worker in his Department; what estimate he has made of the total cost to his Department of paying those fees; and what assessment he has made of the risks that the EU Settlement Scheme poses to the retention of EU nationals (i) employed by or (ii) working as an outsourced worker in his Department.

Anne Milton: ​The UK government currently does not plan to pay the Settled Status Fee for its non-UK EU citizen employees. The fee is set at an affordable rate (£65), less than the cost of an UK passport. Outsourced workers are not employees of the department and therefore this would be a decision for their employers. The number of non-UK EU citizens employed across the Civil Service is not consistently collected across government. It is therefore not possible to estimate the cost of paying the settled status fee for non-UK EU nationals employed directly by the department. ​We value the significant contribution made by EU citizens working in the Civil Service and we want these colleagues to continue to play a full role in the work of the Civil Service. We are committed to supporting our EU citizen employees across the Civil Service, the important engagement with EU national networks across government will continue over the coming months.

Adoption

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children were adopted in each of the last three years.

Nadhim Zahawi: The number of adopted children who were formerly looked-after by the local authority in each of the last three years was published in Table E1 in the statistical release ‘Children looked after in England including adoption: 2017 to 2018’ available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2017-to-2018. The department does not estimate the number of adopted children who were not previously looked-after.

Foster Care: Training

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of the number of foster and kinship carers that undertook training for those roles in 2017.

Nadhim Zahawi: The information requested on the number of foster carers and kinship carers that undertook training in 2017 is not held centrally.The statutory framework, Fostering Services Regulations 2011, clearly sets out that all foster parents, including kinship foster carers, must receive the training and development they need to carry out their role effectively. All foster parents are required to complete the Training, Support and Development Standards within 12 months of approval as a foster parent and maintain a training and development portfolio. Over and above this, it is up to local fostering service providers to determine what training their foster parents undertake in order to meet local need.

Foster Care

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children are currently in foster care.

Nadhim Zahawi: At 31 March 2018, there were 55,200 looked-after children in England in foster placements. Further information on the number of looked-after children by their placement is published in table A2 of the statistical release ‘Children looked after in England including adoption: 2017 to 2018’: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2017-to-2018.

Ministry of Justice

Bombings: Birmingham

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress has been made on helping families affected by the Birmingham pub bombings in securing legal aid for the upcoming inquest.

Lucy Frazer: Legal aid for early legal advice and assistance is available, subject to means and a merits test. Funding for advocacy at inquests may also be available via the Exceptional Case Funding scheme, subject to means and legal criteria. In January last year, we changed the regulations around inquest funding, the effect of which meant the firm, KRW, representing the majority of the families seeking representation, could apply for funding in this case. Legal aid was provided to KRW, effective in the vast majority of those cases from February 2017. However, all firms seeking to undertake publicly-funded cases must be accredited. In this case, it was discovered that KRW had not obtained the accreditation, required as a condition of the firm being granted a legal aid contract. The firm’s contract was suspended until the accreditation was achieved. Accreditation was secured on the 7 December 2018 as a result the Contract suspension was lifted allowing KRW to once more receive public funding for the majority of the families.

Aiding and Abetting

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) adequacy of the law of joint enterprise and (b) implications for his policies of the Supreme Court decision in R v Jogee 2016.

Lucy Frazer: The Government does not believe that any changes to the law on joint enterprise are currently needed but intend to keep the matter under review. The law on joint enterprise is not set out in statute but is a common law doctrine. The Supreme Court judgment in R v Jogee amended a specific narrow element of the law in this area and did not call for Parliament to legislate. It is for our independent courts to interpret the law, as laid down by the Supreme Court. The Crown Prosecution Service has amended its guidance on secondary liability for prosecutors in line with the Jogee judgment and that guidance, published in May this year, aims to provide a clear direction for prosecutors in this area of law.

Prisons: Private Sector

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether all new-build prisons due to be run by the private sector will have minimum staffing levels specified prior to any tendering process.

Mr David Gauke: As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement issued by my Honourable friend Rory Stewart on 29 November, this Government remains committed to a role for the private sector in operating custodial services. The Prison Operator Services framework competition launched on 6 December seeks to build on the innovation and different ways of working that the private sector has previously introduced to the system. The sector has an important role to play, and currently runs some high-performing prisons, in the delivery of an estate which is both decent and secure. The Ministry of Justice does not mandate staffing numbers in privately operated prisons. It is the responsibility of the contractor to determine and maintain the number of staff necessary to discharge the requirements of the contract and ensure that staff are sufficiently trained to undertake their duties. As part of the competition process we will undertake rigorous operational and financial assessments of bids put forward, including staffing commitments. The performance of all providers is, and will continue to be, robustly managed and contracts for the operation of new prisons will not be awarded unless bids meet quality and value for money thresholds.

Legal Aid Scheme: Asylum

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many requests for legal assistance were made by asylum applicants during the first instance procedure in 2018.

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many requests for legal assistance by asylum applicants were made during the first instance procedure under the (a) regular (b) accelerated (c) border and (d) Dublin procedure categories in the UK in 2018.

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many requests for legal assistance by asylum applicants during the first instance procedure resulted in a grant of legal assistance in 2018.

Lucy Frazer: The information requested is not held by the Legal Aid Agency (LAA). The LAA does not record data about the volumes of citizens who request this type of legal assistance, as the application process for the type of legal aid applicable to the matters described is devolved to the appointed solicitor. Where a client is found to be eligible for legal aid in a case of the kind enquired about, this information is reported subsequently to the Legal Aid Agency.

Children in Care

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people who were related or known to a child but not to their parents applied in 2017-18 for legal aid to receive legal advice or be represented in care proceedings; how many of those applications resulted in legal aid being awarded; and how many such proceedings involving an individual who had been granted legal aid resulted in the child living with that person under (a) a care order, (b) a special guardianship order, (c) a child arrangements order and (d) another legal arrangement.

Lucy Frazer: This question could only be answered at disproportionate cost.

Personal Independence Payment: Appeals

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate his Department has made of the number of personal independence payment cases appealed to HM Courts and Tribunal Service in each quarter since January 2015.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate his department has made of the (a) number and (b) percentage of personal independence payment cases that have been (i) upheld and (ii) overturned by HM Courts and Tribunal Service at appeal stage in each quarter since January 2015.

Lucy Frazer: Holding answer received on 20 December 2018



Information about the volumes and outcomes of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) appeals to the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support) (SSCS) is published at:www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics Latest figures (to June 2018) indicate that since PIP was introduced, 3.5 million decisions have been made, and of these 9% have been appealed and 4% have been overturned at tribunals. We are working with the Department for Work and Pensions to understand what could be done to reduce the number of appeals being submitted to the tribunal, through their focus on improving decision-making and the mandatory reconsideration process. We are also taking forward initiatives with potential to increase the capacity and performance of the tribunal, for instance by introducing case management “triage” sessions, with the aim of reducing the time taken for appeals to reach final determination.

Department for International Trade

Department for International  Trade: Migrant Workers

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of his Department paying the £65 application fee for settled or pre-settled status for EU nationals (a) employed by and (b) working as an outsourced worker in his Department; what estimate he has made of the total cost to his Department of paying those fees; and what assessment he has made of the risks that the EU Settlement Scheme poses to the retention of EU nationals (i) employed by or (ii) working as an outsourced worker in his Department.

George Hollingbery: The UK Government currently does not plan to pay the Settled Status Fee for its non-UK EU citizen employees. The fee is set at an affordable rate (£65), less than the cost of an UK passport. Outsourced workers are not employees of the Department of International Trade, and therefore this would be a decision for their employers. The number of non-UK EU citizens employed across the Civil Service is not consistently collected across Government. It is therefore not possible to estimate the cost of paying the settled status fee for non-UK EU nationals employed directly by the Department. We value the significant contribution made by non-UK national EU citizens working in this department, and across the wider Civil Service, and want these colleagues to continue to play a full role in the work of the Civil Service after the UK has left the EU. We are committed to supporting our employees who are non-UK nationals and EU citizens. The important engagement with EU national networks in this department and across the wider Civil Service will continue over the coming months.

Trade Fairs

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 20 November 2018 to Question 191411, what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure that every region of the UK is represented in his Department’s trade show stands.

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 20 November 2018 to Question 19141, what assessment his Department has made of the extent to which the North East is represented by his Department's trade show stands; and if he will make it his policy to include a map of the UK in those trade show stands.

Graham Stuart: All UK companies from any region can participate in the Department for International Trade’s (DIT) supported events at trade shows. We advertise events on Event Hub on GREAT.gov.uk and through our international trade advisers who are based across the country, including the North East. In addition, the North East benefits from participation in the specific DIT Northern Powerhouse (NPH) trade missions programme. The DIT North East team work closely with northern organisations and the UK’s global HMG network to assist companies who are participating in any trade mission, either NPH or national. We do not intend to place a map of the UK on trade show stands.

Overseas Trade

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps the Government is taking to encourage UK businesses to increase the transparency and visibility of their global supply chains.

Graham Stuart: The UK is party to a number of international agreements that support greater transparency and higher ethical standards in global supply chains. These include the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, UN Guiding Principles on Business and the UN Global Compact. The government also supports initiatives led by business or NGOs such as the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark and the Fairtrade movement. The Modern Slavery Act 2015 also requires that all large businesses produce an annual statement explaining what they have done to prevent modern slavery in their business and supply chains.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Compulsory Purchase: Compensation

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Government response to the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee report on land value capture, published in November 2018, Cm 9734, when he will plans to publish updated guidancec on compulsory purchase compensation.

James Brokenshire: My Department will be engaging with compulsory purchase practitioners in the new year to determine the scope of the updates required, with a view to publishing revised guides during the coming year.

Housing: Construction

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, the total sum spent by his Department on the housing infrastructure fund.

James Brokenshire: The Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) is a £5.5 billion grant funding programme for infrastructure to unlock up to 650,000 homes. When we launched the fund in July 2017, we received 430 bids, worth almost £14 billion to deliver up to 1.5 million homes.In February 2018 we announced £866 million to support 133 HIF Marginal Viability Fund (MVF) projects to unlock up to 200,000 homes. In March 2018 we published the 45 areas that we are working with across England to develop Forward Funding (FF) projects with up to £4.6 billion funding available and the potential to unlock up to 450,000 houses. MVF bids are now going through a process of due diligence before funds are released. We expect this due diligence process to be complete by March 2019.In October 2018 we announced the first successful Forward Funding (FF) bid for £291 million of funding to unlock up to 18,000 homes in East London. There are three bidding windows for FF, the first being in September and December 2018 and the next being in March 2019. We are expecting to make all funding decisions by Summer 2019.

Local Government

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has had with local authorities on contingency preparations in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

James Brokenshire: Local government will be fundamental to securing the country’s successful transition as we exit from the EU. My Department is working closely with the 38 Local Resilience Forums, and with councils in England to ensure they are fully prepared.I chair the EU Exit Local Government Delivery Board. This Board provides an opportunity for national and local government to discuss Brexit preparations, review transition and implementation progress, address any issues or concerns that councils may have and discuss opportunities arising from Brexit.

Community Relations

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to fulfil his Department's responsibilities for the promotion of community cohesion.

Jake Berry: The Government is committed to building strong, more integrated communities where people – whatever their background – live, learn, work and socialise together based on shared rights, responsibilities and opportunities.   In March, we published our Integrated Communities Strategy Green Paper . We intend to publish shortly the Government’s response to the consultation on the Green Paper including a new action plan to help build thriving, liveable and resilient places where people get along and where everyone can progress.

Help to Buy Scheme

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many people in each parliamentary constituency have benefitted from the Help to Buy scheme in each year since the launch of that scheme.

Kit Malthouse: Data from 01 April 2013 to Sept 2017 is available on the OpenData website:http://opendatacommunities.org/slice?dataset=http%3A%2F%2Fopendatacommunities.org%2Fdata%2Fhousing-market%2Fhelp-to-buy%2Fnum-loans%2Floan-type&http%3A%2F%2Fopendatacommunities.org%2Fdef%2Fontology%2Fhousing-market%2Fhelp-to-buy%2Fnum-loans%2FloanType=http%3A%2F%2Fopendatacommunities.org%2Fdef%2Fconcept%2Fhousing-market%2Fhelp-to-buy%2Fnum-loans%2Floan-type%2FequityLoans.

Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission: Public Appointments

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will publish a list of the four commissioners appointed to the Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission; and by what process those commissioners were appointed.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 20 December 2018



A list of the four commissioners will be published in the New Year. The Secretary of State will be making these appointments following diligence checks on prospective commissioners and advisers.

Local Government Finance

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 1 May 2018 to Question 138439 on Local Government Finance, which other determining factors his Department uses to determine the sustainability of local authorities on an (a) individual and (b) sectoral level.

Jake Berry: Holding answer received on 20 December 2018



As part of my Department's responsibility for the overall sustainability of the local government finance system, the Department assesses the total amount of funding available to local government to deliver statutory responsibilities. The Department assesses this both top-down, looking at a macro level to see how much funding is in the system as a whole when set against cost drivers, demographics and opportunities for efficiencies; and bottom-up looking at financial indicators, overall capacity, leadership and governance for individual authorities. The Department’s overall judgement also considers whether there is flexibility in the system to respond to events, emergencies and to be able to provide the broader local leadership expected by communities.Each Government Department has responsibility for establishing arrangements to ensure that services for which they have policy responsibility remain sustainable and that statutory responsibilities are being met. Local authorities are independent of central Government and are responsible for managing their financial budgets and for making spending decisions in line with their priority needs.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Migrant Workers

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of his Department paying the £65 application fee for settled or pre-settled status for EU nationals (a) employed by and (b) working as an outsourced worker in his Department; what estimate he has made of the total cost to his Department of paying those fees; and what assessment he has made of the risks that the EU Settlement Scheme poses to the retention of EU nationals (i) employed by or (ii) working as an outsourced worker in his Department.

Jake Berry: The UK Government currently does not plan to pay the Settled Status Fee for its non-UK EU citizen employees. The fee is set at an affordable rate (£65), less than the cost of an UK passport.  Outsourced workers are not employees of the Department and therefore this would be a decision for their employers.  The number of non-UK EU citizens employed across the Civil Service is not consistently collected across Government. It is therefore not possible to estimate the cost of paying the settled status fee for non-UK EU nationals employed directly by the department.  We value the significant contribution made by EU citizens working in the Civil Service and we want these colleagues to continue to play a full role in the work of the Civil Service. We are committed to supporting our EU citizen employees across the Civil Service, the important engagement with EU national networks across government will continue over the coming months.

National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to page 11 of the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation consultation document, published in September 2015, what the fourth central London site was that had been subject to discussions.

Jake Berry: The UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation’s document published in September 2015 invited suggestions of sites suitable for the Memorial and Learning Centre. The discussions referred to on page 11 of that document were held in confidence and concerned a site that subsequently became unavailable.

National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the property was in Millbank that was offered to the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation as a site for the Holocaust Learning Centre in late 2016; and for what reasons the offer was not taken up.

Jake Berry: Millbank Tower was considered as a possible site for the Memorial and Learning Centre. The proposal was tied to the development of the wider site: to date, there is no evidence of redevelopment coming forward and occupational office leases have now been extended to 2022. Victoria Tower Gardens was preferred by the UKHMF Board as the outstanding candidate site for the following reasons:its relevance as a commemorative garden of Britain’s national conscience, already containing significant memorial sculptures, marking momentous historic events, with significance for the struggle for human rights, that remain relevant today and will do so in the future;it provides an iconic location adjoining Parliament, sitting along the riverfront immediately next to the House of Lords;it is visually prominent and adjacent to one of the most visited parts of London, within easy reach of a major tube station and many bus routes;the resonance of being next to Parliament and on the timeless banks of the Thames is exceptional; andunder the shadow of Victoria Tower, the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre would question the impacts of the Holocaust and subsequent genocides on our own Parliament.

National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to his Answer of October 2017 to Question 106036, if he will place in the Library a list of (a) the almost 50 sites considered for the UK Holocaust Memorial and (b) the dates on which each of those sites was proposed to the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation.

Jake Berry: To release the information requested could prejudice the commercial interests of the sites' owners.

National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will place in the Library the minutes of UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation meetings; and for what reason those minutes have not been published to date.

Jake Berry: The minutes are the property of the Foundation which is an independent advisory body.

National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to his Answer of 6 November 2017 to Question 111730, on what date the Government announced that it had decided that the Holocaust Learning Centre would be co-located in Victoria Tower Gardens with the Holocaust Memorial; and what form that announcement took.

Jake Berry: On 14 September 2016 a press release from the Department of Communities and Local Government and the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation announced the start of an architectural design competition for the new Holocaust Memorial in Victoria Tower Gardens. The press release explained that design teams were invited to submit initial expressions of interest in the project, with shortlisted teams then submitting 2-part designs, the first fulfilling the minimum commitment of a striking new national memorial, and the second including the below-ground learning centre to be taken forward subject to technical, financial, planning or other constraints.Following the successful conclusion of the design competition, a further press release on 24 October 2017 announced that Adjaye Associates, Ron Arad Architects and the landscape architects Gustafson Porter + Bowman had been selected to design the UK’s new Holocaust Memorial and a co-located Learning Centre.

National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment the Government has made of the potential effect of the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre on the trees in Victoria Tower Gardens.

Jake Berry: Arboricultural experts have been commissioned and their detailed advice has ensured that designs for the Memorial take full account of the valuable trees in Victoria Tower Gardens. Improved drainage and surface permeability, especially in the hard landscaping and paths, will create a healthier environment for the trees.

National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what role the Royal Parks will have in the selection of the design of the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre to be put forward for planning permission.

Jake Berry: The Royal Parks has had no role in the selection of the design. The Royal Parks will be consulted as part of the independent planning process.

National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which body will have responsibility for maintaining the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre once that centre is built.

Jake Berry: We propose to establish a new arm’s length body to construct the Memorial and Learning Centre and to prepare for its operation. Further consideration will be given to the long-term status of the operating body prior to opening.

Department for Work and Pensions

Unemployment

Hugh Gaffney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to increase job opportunities in communities with an unemployment rate higher than the national average.

Alok Sharma: Over 3 million more people are in work, and unemployment is lower in all regions and nations of the UK than in 2010. Youth unemployment has almost halved in this time, and there has been an increase in female and older worker employment. However, DWP, along with other departments and agencies continues to focus on the labour market and its challenges. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy published the ‘Industrial Strategy: building a Britain fit for the future’ white paper in November 2017. This sets out a plan for how local strategies can work together to increase local opportunities. Jobcentre staff play an important role by offering advice and support to help jobseekers gain the relevant skills required to be able to take up jobs that are available in their communities. Roll-out of Universal Credit Full Service was completed earlier this month and across the country and gives our work coaches the flexibility to offer tailored support to claimants. Government also provides The National Careers Service and works with local partners to provide opportunities for people. The range of support available may include: Connecting people to jobs in the labour marketHelp with job search, including CV writing, interview skills, where to find jobs and how to apply for themHelp to identify transferable skills and skills gaps (linked to the local labour market)Training to update skills, learn new ones and gain industry recognised certification that will improve employabilityHelp to overcome barriers to attending training or securing a jobFor large redundancies, DWP may also provide on-site services such as presentations to those affectedJobs fairs and job clubs where appropriate

Universal Credit

Ruth George: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people who have applied for a universal credit advance payment have been unsuccessful in that application.

Alok Sharma: Holding answer received on 17 December 2018



The data requested is not held for unsuccessful applications for Universal Credit advances made in person or by telephone. For applications made online, to provide the data would incur disproportionate cost.

Members: Correspondence

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she plans to respond to correspondence of 28 September 2018 and 23 November 2018 from the hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey to her Department on the additional costs that Highland local authority has incurred relating to universal credit.

Alok Sharma: I replied to the hon. Member on 20 December 2018.

Food Banks: North East

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to visit food banks in the (a) North East and (b) Sunderland in the next six months.

Justin Tomlinson: The Secretary of State will be making a number of visits across the UK over the next six months. The member will be updated via the usual means should such a visit be planned. The Jobcentre Plus staff in Sunderland and the North East work extremely hard to help people get into employment and this has helped contribute to an additional 71,000 people in employment since 2010.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Fisheries: Scotland

Kirstene Hair: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions officials in his Department has had with representatives of the Scottish Government on implementation of the Fisheries Bill in Scotland.

George Eustice: The UK Government has worked closely with the Devolved Administrations in developing the Fisheries Bill.The Fisheries Bill respects the devolution settlements and in many ways incorporates specific asks for new decision-making powers the Devolved Administrations, including the Scottish Government, had put forward.Implementation of the Fisheries Act is then a matter for each Devolved Administration. In some areas, however, we will continue to closely cooperate, for example, on foreign vessel licencing or in the development of a Joint Fisheries Statement.

Home Office

Police: Finance

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much funding his Department has allocated to policing in preparation for the UK leaving the EU (a) with and (b) without a deal.

Mr Nick Hurd: For the financial year 2018-19, the department will receive an allocation of £395m to continue preparing for the UK to leave the EU. This funding will cover both deal and any no deal scenario.As part of its planning for a no deal scenario the Home Office will be providing support in 2018-19 to the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) and ACRO Criminal Records Office.

Home Office: Pay

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff in his Department are paid less than £10.20 per hour.

Victoria Atkins: From April 2018, all employers in the UK were required to pay a new National Living Wage of £7.83 per hour. The Home Office pays all direct employees at least the statutory National Living Wage, regardless of age.There are 987 direct employees of the Home Office who earn less than £8.75 per hour. This includes 103 apprentices and 884 staff on the National and London Provincial pay rates. No employees on the London Pay Rates receive less than £10.20 per hour.

Police

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many officers in (a) the Metropolitan Police and (b) other police forces are in teams working solely on preparing for the UK leaving the EU.

Mr Nick Hurd: Decisions on the use and deployment of resources are independent matters for individual Chief Constables. The Home Office does not centrally hold the information requested.

Europol

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether data processed by the Secure Information Exchange Network Application system is owned by Europol.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Secure Information Exchange Network Application (SIENA) is a Europol owned communication platform which enables Member States, and third countries that have an agreement with Europol, to share their own data on a bilateral and multilateral basis. Users of the platform can choose whether or not to share that data with Europol and retain ownership of all of their data which is exchanged using SIENA .

Immigrants: EU Nationals

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make it Government policy to enable employers to make (a) the required Settled Status payments directly to his Department on behalf of employees and (b) ensure that such support is not treated as a benefit in kind.

Caroline Nokes: It is a matter for individual employers as to whether they wish to pay the EU Settlement Scheme fee on behalf of an employee.In terms of employers choosing to reimburse their staff for the cost of applying to the settlement scheme, taxation rules are not a matter for the Home Office. However, HMRC has advised that in situations like these, where an employer pays or reimburses their employees’ application costs, such a payment would be taxable as earnings from their employment and may also attract a National Insurance contributions (NICs) charge. However, employers can also choose to meet the cost of this tax and NICs charge for their employees. For many employers this can be managed within their existing arrangements with HMRC, using a PAYE Settlement Agreement (PSA) which allows employers to make one annual payment to cover all the tax and NICs due on minor, irregular or impracticable expenses or benefits for their staff.

Home Office: Billing

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of contracts issued by his Department and contractors include provisions to impose, as between parties to the subcontract, that any payment due from the contractor to a subcontractor under the contract is to be made no later than the end of a period of 30 days from the date on which the relevant invoice is regarded as valid and undisputed, as required by the Public Contract Regulations 2015.

Victoria Atkins: Information as requested cannot be provided without incurring a disproportionate cost.

Visas: Applications

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department,  if his Department will undertake a review of the length of time it takes for visa application decisions to be expedited for those experiencing financial hardship, and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Nokes: Applicants applying for leave to remain on the basis of their family life, private life or outside of the rules can, at the same time, apply for the application fee to be waived due to being destitute. Fee waiver applications are separated from fee paid ones and are assessed by a dedicated team. If the destitution claim is accepted, the application is considered as a priority. No review is planned.

Deportation

Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when his Department last returned a person to an overseas country that the individual had not resided in since they were aged four years old or younger.

Caroline Nokes: Our enforcement policy is founded on the expectation that those with no right to be in the United Kingdom should return home. We expect such persons to leave voluntarily but where they do not, we will seek to enforce their departure.Individuals may raise Article 8 human rights grounds why they should not be removed from the UK and this must be considered, including their age on arrival in the UK and the length of time spent in the UK if that is part of their claim.There is a right of appeal against an adverse decision. Returns are only enforced where both the Home Office and the courts are satisfied that an individual has no right to remain in the UK.

EU Nationals: Community Relations

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions he has had with European embassies based in the UK on the treatment of European citizens by UK citizens in the UK since the EU referendum 2016.

Caroline Nokes: Ministers have engaged with EU and EFTA Ambassadors on a range of issues relating to the treatment of their citizens since the 2016 referendum.The Government continues to engage closely with Ambassadors on crucial issues for EU citizens in the UK, to ensure that they are treated fairly and with respect.

EU Nationals: Health Services

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether EU citizens applying for settled status will be charged the Immigration Health Surcharge.

Caroline Nokes: EU citizens and their family members who apply to the EU Settlement Scheme will not be required to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge.

Terrorism: Internet

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to implement the provisions of the draft Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on preventing the dissemination of terrorist content online.

Mr Ben Wallace: The UK continues to lead international efforts to prevent terrorist use of the internet. This includes working closely with the EU and other international partners to push industry to take a more proactive approach to detecting and removing terrorist content from their platforms, including by legislative means.On 12 September, the European Commission announced a regulation to tackle terrorist content online. The UK has worked with the Commission and other Member States to ensure the proposed Regulation is ambitious and has meaningful impact on the problem.If agreed, the Regulation would have direct effect in domestic law and as such, we do not consider that any changes to domestic law would be necessary. This would be dependent on the outcome of EU Exit negotiations.

Rape: Prosecutions

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions he has had with the Attorney General on Criminal Prosecution Service charging thresholds in cases for rape.

Victoria Atkins: The Minister for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability and the Solicitor General regularly meet to discuss issues related to sexual violence, including improving outcomes for victims of rape and serious sexual offences. The Attorney General also is a member of the Violence Against Women and Girls Inter Ministerial Group, chaired by the Home Secretary, at which issues related to rape and sexual violence are also discussed.Rape and sexual violence are devastating crimes and we expect every report to be treated seriously from the point of disclosure, every victim to be treated with dignity and every investigation and every prosecution to be conducted thoroughly and professionally.We continue to work with the police to look at ways to improve police investigations of rape and ensure that their guidance on investigating and prosecuting rape is implemented in every police force area. We are working with the CPS, Ministry of Justice and Attorney General’s Office to better understand these issues, which will be addressed in detail in the upcoming Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy Refresh.

Immigration: Windrush Generation

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to compensate victims of the Windrush scandal.

Caroline Nokes: The Government is establishing a compensation scheme for members of the Windrush generation who have suffered loss as a result of difficulties in demonstrating their lawful immigration status.The Home Office published a consultation paper on 19 July seeking views on the design and operation of the scheme. The consultation closed on 16 November.We will announce details of the final scheme and how to apply as soon as possible.Ahead of the scheme coming into operation, the Home Office has already put measures in place to help those who are affected. This includes a dedicated team for vulnerable people within the Windrush taskforce, providing assistance where an urgent need for support or advice has been identified.

Visas: Applications

Karen Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has plans to amend the immigration visa application process to allow the use of printed bills as acceptable documentation.

Caroline Nokes: UK Visas and Immigration has made changes to evidential requirements and its front end service arrangements so that customers no longer need to send paper evidence by post, but will either have their evidence scanned at an application centre, or upload their own digital image of their evidence as part of the application process. For many, customers, these changes mean they will be able to retain their key documents while their application is considered.

Undocumented Migrants: English Channel

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions he has had with his French counterpart on migrants illegally crossing the English Channel.

Caroline Nokes: The Sandhurst treaty signed by the PM in January demonstrates the commitment of the UK and France to manage our shared border and deliver enhanced joint action to disrupt and dismantle the Organised Immigration Crime gangs behind irregular migration. We continue to hold regular bilateral discussions on all issues relevant to the Sandhurst Treaty via the UK-France Migration committee, the latest meeting of which took place in London on 30 November.The UK and France have also agreed to the establishment of a joint centre in Coquelles to combat crime associated with illegal border crossing and the trafficking of vulnerable persons.

Immigration: Windrush Generation

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate he has made of the number of members of the Windrush generation who were deported to other countries and have subsequently requested compensation.

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate he has made of the number of members of the Windrush generation who were detained at an immigration centre and have subsequently requested compensation.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office wrote to the Home Affairs Select Committee on 21 August with the initial findings of the Historical Review of removals and detentions. The Historical Review identified 14 people who had been detained in an Immigration Removal Centre. Regular updates have been provided to the committee and this information is available in the library of the House. As set out in the letter to the Committee of 12 November, the department initially excluded all individuals with a “criminal case type” marker. We reviewed this approach to ensure we have not adopted too broad a definition and revised our methodology. However, individuals who have been deported following a criminal conviction in the UK continue to be excluded from the review. We will continue to keep the Home Affairs Select Committee updated.The Government has committed to establishing a compensation scheme specifically for those members of the Windrush generation who suffered a loss as a result of difficulties in establishing their lawful immigration status. Details of the scheme and how to apply for compensation will be announced as soon as possible. Prior to the launch of the compensation scheme it is open to individuals to bring a claim for compensation through the court system.

Deportation: Veterans

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many veterans have been deported in each year since 2010.

Caroline Nokes: The data requested is not available in a reportable format. Providing the information requested would require a manual check of individual records which could only be done at disproportionate cost.

Yemen: Asylum

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps is he taking to enable Yemeni Nationals seek asylum in the UK after the closure of the British Embassy in Yemen.

Caroline Nokes: We have a proud history of providing protection for those who need it, in accordance with our obligations under the Refugee Convention. All asylum claims lodged in the UK are carefully considered so that we do not return anyone who faces persecution or serious harm in their country.However, in line with the approach taken by other signatories to the Refugee Convention, we do not consider asylum claims lodged outside the UK and there is no provision in our Immigration Rules for people to be allowed to travel to the UK to seek asylum. Those who need international protection should claim in the first safe country they reach that is the fastest route to safety.

Refugees: Calais and Dunkirk

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions he has had with his French counterpart on the treatment of refugees in the Calais and Dunkirk regions by police.

Caroline Nokes: Much of the UK’s relationship with France on illegal migration is governed by the Sandhurst Treaty, signed in January 2018. The Treaty provides for joint cooperation to improve security infrastructure at the shared border in northern France, to reduce illegal migration flows and to provide support to the most vulnerable. This includes a programme of work to support access into asylum accommodation in France and a Dublin Regulation Development Fund. The UK has committed a package of €50 million to implement this work, which is overseen by the official UK-France Migration Committee. Our two countries continue to undertake regular and routine ministerial and senior official discussions regarding migration across our shared border and our cooperation under the Sandhurst Treaty. However, the actions of French law enforcement on their sovereign territory remain a domestic matter for the French Government and as such the British Government is not consulted on their activities.

Lost Property: Police

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the police take receipt of lost property handed in by the general public.

Mr Nick Hurd: Taking receipt of lost property handed in by the general public is a matter for individual police forces.Following a national police review of Lost Property Services, the National Police Chief’s Council accepted a decision to cease general lost property reporting with effect from 1st October 2018.

Immigration: Maladministration

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent changes his Department has made to minimise the chance of errors occurring in relation to a person's immigration status.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office recognises the importance of good data quality to support its decision making and we are continuing to work to improve and assure both our historic and present data quality.We are in the process of deploying a new immigration data platform and digital casework applications to each area of the immigration system, and we are improving the accuracy and completeness of records held on immigration databases through user training and rigorous quality assurance.We have created a Chief Caseworker Unit within UK Visas and Immigration and a ‘safety valve’ mechanism within Immigration Enforcement to bolster caseworking expertise and ensure that caseworkers have a clear escalation route where they have a concern or require specialist guidance. This is in addition to a number of new working process trials to help reduce the number of refusal decisions overturned at appeal. In addition, we are increasing face to face engagement between staff and individuals in both immigration reporting centres and immigration removal centres to ensure that vulnerability issues are identified and managed at the earliest opportunity

Hate Crime and Radicalism: Internet

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much funding the Government has provided to organisations tackling online extremism and hate crime in each of the last five years.

Victoria Atkins: Over the last five years the Government has committed to funding a range of organisations tackling online extremism and hate crime.This has included: over £450k to MOPAC for a London Hate Crime Hub through the Police Innovation Fund; £200k for the first year of the police National Online Hate Crime Hub which went live in January 2018; alongside £100k to the Police to support the TrueVision website for hate crime reporting. As part of the response to online extremism under the Counter Extremism Strategy, we have provided £272,419 in grant funding for Civil Society Organisations through the Building a Stronger Britain Together Programme.There has also been funding to tackle broader issues than online extremism and hate which would have benefit for both issues. For example, over £1.8m funding to tackle online harassment through the Office for Students.

Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Ratification of Convention) Act 2017

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to comply with the requirements of the Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (Ratification of Convention) Act 2017.

Victoria Atkins: On 30 October a Written Ministerial Statement was laid setting out our current steps to comply with the Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (Ratification of Convention) Act 2017. It is available at https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-10-30/HCWS1048/ and the second annual report is available athttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ratification-of-the-council-of-europe-convention-on-combating-violence-against-women-and-domestic-violence-progress-report

Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service: Inspections

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he plans to order the HMI Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services to undertake an investigation into the performance of Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service.

Mr Nick Hurd: An inspection of Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) is planned for summer 2019 as part of the fire and rescue services inspection programme.The HMICFRS inspection programme covers all 45 fire and rescue services in England. Inspections assess the effectiveness and efficiency of each fire and rescue service, and how well they look after the people who work for them.

Police: Lambeth

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers have served in Lambeth in each year since 2010.

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers there have been per head of population in Lambeth in each year since 2010.

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the police response times were in the London Borough of Lambeth in each year since 2010.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office collects and publishes statistics on the number of police officers employed by each police force in England and Wales on a bi-annual basis. These figures present a picture of the workforce as at the 31 March and as at 30 September each year. These data are published in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical publication, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-walesData on the number of officers per 100,000 of the resident population, by police force area, are published on an annual basis. The latest available data on the number of police officers per 100,000 of the population can be found in Table_H4 of the data tables accompanying the main release, the latest of which can be accessed here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-workforce-england-and-wales-31-march-2018Data on the number of police officers are collected at Police Force Area level only, and cannot be broken at local authority level.The Home Office does not hold information on response times of the police.

State Visits: USA

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers were seconded from Lambeth to police President Trump's visit; and what the cost to the public purse was of that secondment.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office does not hold this information. Is it an operational matter for chief officers to decide how to deploy available resources.

Windrush Generation

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral statement of 23 April 2018, Official Report, column 619, on Windrush, what progress his Department has made on setting up a new customer contact centre.

Caroline Nokes: UK Visas and Immigration continues to work towards providing a World Class Customer Service. To that end, insight and feedback are used continuously to improve our services. Where an application is made in the UK, customers can contact our in-country contact centre and are provided with information about the Immigration Rules and the requirements of the Points Based System.In addition to the established contact system, since the commitments mentioned by the Hon. Member on 23rd April, several improved services have been introduced. These include a Customer Resolution Centre for our EU Settlement Scheme to proactively support EU citizens through the application process and in April 2018 we also formed a dedicated, free, helpline for those individuals who are part of the Windrush generation and wish to seek the help of the Windrush Taskforce.Since 6th August we have also been piloting a dedicated service through the Citizens Advice in Bolton and our Croydon Contact Centre for customers who need more in-depth information regarding their immigration applications.

101 Calls: Fees and Charges

Martin Whitfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to make (a) mobile and (b) landline non-emergency 101 phone calls free of charge.

Mr Nick Hurd: Calls to 101 cost 15p from a mobile device or landline phones, from anywhere in the country and regardless of duration. Calls are free from payphones.The public have always paid to contact the police by telephone for non-emergencies and the 15p charge per call is a transparent rate that fully funds the 101 non-emergency service. Police non-emergency numbers (such as 0845 numbers) which were used before 2011 could cost members of the public up to 40p per minute. While it may not be an option for everyone, the public can also report non-emergency crimes online via forces’ websites.The Home Office has no plans to bring forward legislation to remove current charges from the 101 non-emergency number.The Home Office is supporting the digital transformation of policing through programmes such as the Digital Policing Portfolio (DPP), led by the NPCC. Within the DPP, the Digital Public Contact programme aims to provide appropriate digital channels for the public to report and track crime online, facilitating greater public-police interaction in real time.

UK Border Force: Patrol Craft

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to increase the number of patrol boats available to Border Force for use in the English Channel.

Caroline Nokes: Border Force constantly review their maritime capabilities and currently have two coastal patrol vessels and one cutter available for the English Channel. In light of recent events they have stepped up deployments along the South-East coast.Clandestine entry to the UK is not an issue that can be solved by coastal patrols alone, so Border Force cooperate closely with their French counterparts to counter clandestine activity at source and continue to encourage maritime communities to report suspicious activity in the English Channel.

Serious Violence Taskforce

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what topics were discussed at the most recent meeting of the serious violence taskforce; and if he will publish the minutes of that meeting.

Victoria Atkins: The most recent meeting of the Serious Violence Taskforce took place on 21 November and the discussion focused on Alternative Provision, Pupil Referral Units and Out of Area Placements. The meeting also considered serious violence hotspots, and a case study response to the issue of coun-ty lines. The minutes from the Serious Violence Taskforce meetings are not published, this is to ensure that open and frank discussion can take place at the meetings.

Domestic Violence: Expenditure

Ben Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much funding his Department has allocated to programmes aimed at tackling domestic violence in the last 12 months.

Victoria Atkins: The Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy set out an ambitious programme to make tackling VAWG everybody’s business.Over this spending review period, we are providing £100 million of dedicated funding to tackle VAWG. VAWG services are mainly commissioned at a local level by Police and Crime Commissioners, local authorities and health commissioners. The Government’s VAWG National Statement of Expectations encourages such decisions to be taken at a local level and driven by local need.We created a £17 million 3-year VAWG Service Transformation Fund, which is funding projects across 41 areas in England and Wales to embed local best practice and ensure that early intervention and prevention, not crisis response, is the norm. Details of the funding are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/violence-against-women-and-girls-service-transformation-fund-successful-bids-2017-to-2020Through the Police Transformation Fund we are spending £5.8 million to support innovative projects to tackle domestic abuse. More details of the funding are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/police-transformation-fund-successful-bids-2017-to-2018We have also announced an £8 million fund to support children affected by domestic abuse, which gives charities, local authorities and other organisations the chance to bid for money for projects designed to intervene early to help children who have been directly or indirectly affected by domestic abuse. We will announce successful bids shortly.The Home Office also supports the national VAWG Helplines and recently committed funding of up to £1.1m per annum for these services until 2021.

Police: Nottinghamshire

Ben Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers per head of population there were in Nottinghamshire in each of the last two years for which figures are available.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office collects and publishes statistics on the number of police officers employed by each police force in England and Wales on a bi-annual basis. These figures present a picture of the workforce as at the 31 March and as at 30 September each year.Data on the number of officers per 100,000 of the resident population, by police force area, are published on an annual basis. The latest available data can be found in Table_H4 of the data tables accompanying the main release, the latest of which can be accessed here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-workforce-england-and-wales-31-march-2018

Immigrants: Finance

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of people who report to immigration reporting centres receive financial support from the Home Office to do so.

Caroline Nokes: Financial support to enable attendance at a reporting centre is determined on a case by case basis by the Home Office and is dependent on a number of factors including the current status of an individual’s case, proximity to an immigration reporting centre location and any exceptional circumstances.An individual who is required to report is able to apply for support and on approval will receive a ticket for their homeward journey and next reporting event.This system will be replaced nationally by a pre-loaded debit card system which is part of the ongoing transformation of our reporting centres and it is envisaged that all individuals requiring financial support to report will be provided the necessary funds via this system.The exact proportion of the reporting population who receive such support is not available in an accessible format and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

Schools: Notice Boards

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will meet with the Chief Fire and Rescue Advisor to discuss issuing strategic advice and guidance for (a) fire and rescue authorities and (b) local education authorities on the installation and inspection of school classroom notice boards to ensure they are legally compliant with respect to fire standards.

Mr Nick Hurd: The role of Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser was abolished in 2017.The General Product Safety Regulations 2005 places a responsibility on manufacturers to put only safe products on to the market. Products, and their constituent materials, must be safe for any reasonable foreseeable use.Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the responsible person (usually the owner, employer or managing agent) is required to ensure adequate fire protection measures are in place and maintained appropriately. To help responsible persons identify and mitigate fire risk and comply with the provisions of the Order, Government has made available guidance, including a specific guide for education premises, which is available here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fire-safety-risk-assessment-educational-premises.Additional guidance on design for fire safety in schools, known as Building Bulletin 100, was published by the Department for Children, Schools and Families in 2007 and refers to the safe use of notice boards. The guide is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-bulletin-100-design-for-fire-safety-in-schools.

Police: Pensions

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral statement of 13 December 2018 on Police Funding Settlement, Official Report, column 431, for what reason the resource provided to cover unexpected increases in the contribution to public sector pensions will match the £165m identified by police chiefs as being the liability in 2019-20.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral statement 13 December 2018 on Police Funding Settlement, Official Report, column 431, what plans the Government has to meet the unexpected increases in their contribution to public sector pensions in 2020-21.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the oral contribution of 13 December 2018 of the Minister for Policing and the Fire Service, Official Report column 432, whether police forces will be required to use any of the approximately £150 million provided to cover unexpected increases in their contribution to public sector pensions in 2020-21.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office collects and publishes statistics on the number of police officers employed by each police force in England and Wales on a bi-annual basis. These figures present a picture of the workforce as at the 31 March and as at 30 September each year. These data are published in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical publication, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-walesData on the number of officers per 100,000 of the resident population, by police force area, are published on an annual basis. The latest available data on the number of police officers per 100,000 of the population can be found in Table_H4 of the data tables accompanying the main release, the latest of which can be accessed here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-workforce-england-and-wales-31-march-2018Data on the number of police officers are collected at Police Force Area level only, and cannot be broken at local authority level.The Home Office does not hold information on response times of the police.

Asylum: Housing

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were accommodated in each asylum reception centre in the UK at the end of 2018.

Caroline Nokes: Asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute can apply for free accommodation and cash support to cover their essential living needs whilst their cases are considered. If they have an emergency need for ac-commodation they can ask to be put in initial accommodation whilst their support applications are being processed (asylum seekers receive section 98 support while in initial accommodation).Quarterly data, correct as to September 2018, regarding the number of resi-dents in initial accommodation is included in the published statistics, which can be found on data table volume 4 at;https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-year-ending-september-2018-data-tablesThe Home Office does not publish data for each separate initial accommodation.

Asylum: Employment

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum applicants were granted permission to work in 2018.

Caroline Nokes: Asylum seekers are not allowed to work in the UK unless their claim has been outstanding for at least 12 months through no fault of their own. The data requested on the number of asylum seekers granted permission to work in 2018 is only held on paper case files or within the notes sections of the Home Office's databases. Therefore, the number of asylum seekers granted permission to work is not held in a reportable formatThose who are granted permission to work are restricted to jobs on the Shortage Occupation List, which can be found in the Immigration Rules Appendix K: shortage occupation list (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-k-shortage-occupation-list)

Asylum: Housing

Mr Paul Sweeney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people in Scotland have been affected by Serco's decision of 27 July 2018 to issue 7 day lock change eviction notices to asylum seekers that have had their asylum support discontinued.

Caroline Nokes: Asylum seekers who are assessed as being desitute are provided with accommodation until their asylum claim and any appeal is finally determinedSerco informed 17 people that their accommodation support was ending with 21 days’ notice. These service users were no longer entitled to financial support or accommodation as their claims had been decided.We are unable to provide data for people who will be affected as claims are continually progressing and asylum seekers are able to submit further submissions at any time during the process.We continue to work closely with Serco and Glasgow City Council to monitor cases that are awaiting a legal decision and Serco have decided to pause the issuance of further lock-change notices whilst this previously untested area of Scottish housing law is clarified through the Courts.

Travellers: Caravan Sites

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to assess the (a) rights of children and (b) the effect on children of the eviction of Gypsy and Traveller communities in his consultation on powers for dealing with unauthorised development.

Mr Nick Hurd: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Stretford and Urmston on the 7 December 2018, UIN 197400.The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Ministry of Justice, and the Home Office carried out a joint consultation on the effectiveness of powers for dealing with unauthorised development and encampments.All government departments have an ongoing responsibility to meet the Public Sector Equalities Duty (PSED) under the Equality Act 2010. As such, when formulating any policy changes following the consultation, ministers must have due regard to the three limbs of the PSED: (1) eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Act, (2) advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not, and (3) foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.

Crime Prevention: Rural Areas

Kirstene Hair: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps his Department has taken to reduce the level of crime in rural areas; and if he will make a statement.

Victoria Atkins: The Government has ensured that, through the election of police and crime commissioners, communities, including those in rural areas, have a strong voice in determining how police resources are allocated to tackle the crimes that most matter to them.  Moreover, we are committed to providing all police forces in England and Wales with the resources they need to do their crucial work. In 2018/19, total police funding increased by over £460 million, including Council Tax precept and funding for national priorities. The proposed funding settlement for 2019/20 enables total policing funding to increase by up to £970 million, including Council Tax precept and funding for national priorities such as counter-terrorism. This is sufficient for the police to both manage financial pressures and invest in key capabilities such as recruiting more detectives.

Department for Exiting the European Union

EU External Relations

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2018 to Question 194189 on EU External Relations, if he will set out the (a) agreements and (b) acquisitions which are affected by Article 129 of the EU Withdrawal Agreement and the requirement on the UK to refrain from acting in a manner deemed to be prejudicial to the Union's interests.

Kwasi Kwarteng: As article 129(1) of the Withdrawal Agreement makes clear, the UK will continue to be bound by obligations arising from our international agreements during the implementation period. We have agreed with the EU that they will notify treaty partners that the UK is to be treated as a Member State for the purposes of its international agreements with third countries during this period. The notification is intended to cover international agreements as defined in the Withdrawal Agreement - international agreements concluded by the Union, by Member States acting on its behalf, or by the Union and its Member States acting jointly.In accordance with the principle of sincere cooperation, the UK has committed during the implementation period, to refrain from any action or initiative which is likely to be prejudicial to the Union’s interests. In particular in the framework of any international organisation, agency, conference or forum of which the UK is a party in its own right. This will not prevent the UK from negotiating, signing and ratifying new international agreements to come into force after the Implementation Period, even where the subject matter of those agreements would ordinarily be within the exclusive competence of the Union.

European Union: Treaties

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to the more than 750 agreements with more than 168 countries in which the UK participates as an EU member, how many agreements the EU has informed third countries the UK is to continue participating in during the transition period; how many countries have agreed to each of those more than 750 agreements; what oversight the UK has of that process; and whether the Government is taking steps to secure agreement on rolling over those deals with those countries.

Kwasi Kwarteng: We value our international agreements and want to continue to cooperate in key global issues such as air services, trade, climate change, international development and nuclear cooperation. We have agreed with the EU that they will notify treaty partners that, during the implementation period, the UK is to be treated as a Member State for the purposes of its international agreements. This approach provides a basis for continuity across all relevant agreements.A number of third countries (including Canada, Chile, Israel, Switzerland, South Africa, and Singapore) have welcomed the focus on delivering continuity into the implementation period. Countries are understandably waiting for the notification to be issued by the EU before they are able to confirm their clear agreement, and we are continuing to engage with them.We are also engaging with our international partners in order to put in place arrangements that will come into force following the implementation period, and are making good progress with this work.

Judgements: Appeals

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what the total amount of money spent by the Government was to seek permission from the Supreme Court to appeal the decision of the Inner House to make a reference to the Court of Justice of the European Union on Wightman and Others v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union.

Kwasi Kwarteng: The total amount of money spent cannot be quantified because work conducted on this case, like others, is recorded under a general DExEU legal file. Accurate estimations cannot be provided due to the nature of work undertaken. Our Annual Report and Accounts for Financial Year 18/19, will disclose the Department's legal costs.

Brexit

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2018 to Question 185596, how many EU member states have agreed that the UK will be treated as a Member State for the purposes of international agreements during the implementation period.

Kwasi Kwarteng: The draft Withdrawal Agreement provides, at article 7, that all references to Member States and competent authorities of Member States in provisions of Union law made applicable by the agreement shall be understood as including the UK and its competent authorities during the implementation period (subject to the exceptions provided for in article 7). The asterisk to article 129 of the draft Agreement further foresees that the EU will notify treaty partners that the UK is treated as a Member State for the purposes of international agreements during the implementation period. The draft Withdrawal Agreement was signed off by the Member States at November European Council.

Brexit

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2018 to Question 200131 on Brexit, what steps his Department (a) has taken and (b) plans to take to prepare for (i) revoking and (ii) extending Article 50.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The Government’s firm policy position has not changed - we will not be revoking our notification to withdraw under Article 50. We will be leaving the EU on 29 March 2019 and have made clear that we will not be extending Article 50.

Treasury

Local Government Finance

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of projected local government finance settlement spending for each of the next five years as (a) total expenditure and (b) a percentage of gross domestic product.

Elizabeth Truss: Local government Core Spending Power is £45.1 billion in 2018-19, equivalent to 2.1% of forecast nominal Gross Domestic Product, as outlined in the OBR October 2018 Economic and Fiscal Outlook. The provisional Local Government Finance Settlement published on Thursday 13th December set out that Core Spending Power is forecast to increase to £46.4 billion in 2019-20, equivalent to 2.1% of forecast nominal Gross Domestic Product. Longer term funding decisions will be made at the Spending Review next year.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Mobile Phones: Rural Areas

Kirstene Hair: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what his Department's policy is on improving mobile data coverage in rural areas with low levels of fixed superfast broadband coverage.

Margot James: The Government’s ambition is for there to be good mobile coverage in all areas where people live, work and travel, including areas where there are low levels of superfast fixed broadband coverage.The Government recognises that industry needs to improve coverage further, particularly in rural areas, as consumers’ experience of mobile coverage falls short of their expectations.The Government has been taking action to drive up coverage, including reforms to the Electronic Communications Code, to encourage investment in the rollout of digital infrastructure by making deployment cheaper.We also welcome Ofcom’s recent consultation (published on 18th December) which outlined potential new licence obligations targeting rural coverage as part of the upcoming 700MHz spectrum auction. This will help deliver better mobile coverage - including voice and data - and enable more people to benefit from the digital economy.